One of the goals of plant genetic engineering or conventional plant breeding is to produce plants with agronomically, horticulturally or economically important characteristics or traits. The testing of plant tissue for producing plants with improved desired characteristics often requires extraction of metabolites and other bio-molecules from soft tissue such as leaf or hard tissue such as seed. The first step in extraction from seed involves crushing which requires significant mechanical force for hard seeds. The manual application of force required for seed crushing in a high throughput screening is tedious, cumbersome, and usually a source of repetitive stress injuries.